


i will be your last love

by aubadezayn



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Art Enthusiast Dean, Art Exhibits, Artist cas, Artist!Mary, But Loved, Falling In Love, Fluff, Jello, John is dead, M/M, Mechanic Dean, Romance, Sick Castiel, Tattooed Castiel, artist!Cas, stanford!sam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-22
Updated: 2015-09-22
Packaged: 2018-04-22 20:25:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4849334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aubadezayn/pseuds/aubadezayn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><a href="http://unwinchesters.tumblr.com">unwinchesters</a> won a 2K fic for being a winner in my tumblr awards and she requested "for the ficlet request can I have destiel? also maybe like a first kiss and/or first time? ... (oh I like wings if you want to do something with that, up to you)"</p>
<p>Dean was raised with a love and respect for art, and Castiel doesn't just have art on his body, he is art himself. In other words, Dean is smitten.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i will be your last love

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyy if you like Dean/Castiel you should come check me out on [tumblr](http://castielspicelatte.tumblr.com)

In the living room of his childhood home there had been one big blank wall, though it hadn't stayed blank once his Mother saw it. Shortly after moving in it was covered in artworks, some done by her some done by others. Some of Dean's childhood scrawling doodles made the wall, as well as Sammy's pre-k coloring book pages. Even John had drawn a few realistic pieces at some point, maybe during wartimes, maybe during early mornings and the light fading over Mom's hair - either way they ended up dead center on the wall in remembrance.

They never came down, even after his heart attack. Dean remembers coming home from the funeral, hand in hand with Sammy and his Mother and watching her just stare at those drawings. In her big wall of art and imagination and love, they were the only black and white pieces.

After that she always made sure they had crayons, paints, anything to make sure they always stayed vibrant and in color.

Years later, when Dad was a vague memory, Sammy went to Stanford. Of course, in another universe, maybe Sam marched off with a duffel bag and a frown, in this one he was hugged and cried on in his dorm by his Mother. In this one, Dean gave him his leather jacket, the one he'd inherited from their Dad, and promised to keep Mom from visiting every weekend. In this one, Sam came home for Thanksgiving and they got dressed up and took a dumb family photo to put on the wall.

Creativity, color, happiness - all these things Dean had grown up with, cultivated by a determined Mother. So the first time he seen Castiel, and the art decorating his body, Dean fell in love immediately.

It, as Dean was unsurprised, happened in the jello aisle at the grocery store. He can't explain why he was unsurprised, but as the thousands of boxes of jello fell to the floor, on impact from him staggering into the shelves, he found himself nodding. He fell backwards, grabbing onto a shelf and ending up taking it down with him instead, spilling countless boxes of orange jello on top of him.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry. Oh jeez, that's a lot of jello." A voice, gravelly and rugged, frantically tossed boxes aside, reaching to pull Dean out of the pile. "I'm so sorry I knocked into you, I was distracted."

Dean finally was free from the little boxes and hand in hand with the man apologizing, they worked together to get him off the ground. Of course that brough them face to face and this time Dean didn't have Jello to confuse and distract him.

The first thing he thought was that his Mother would love to paint those blue eyes. So bright and vibrant, even the distress and awkwardness in their depths wasn't enough to detract from their beauty. Of course as they backed up from each other, regaining their composure, the painting just got better. Art, masterpieces really of bright color and vibrant linework, decorated all of the available skin on this man other than his face. Wearing a tank top instead of a t-shirt allowed Dean a full explicit view of the beautifully detailed feathers up and down the man's toned arms.

"Oh wow, I love your tattoos." Dean blurted out, reaching out without realizing and running a finger over one of the intricately detailed feathers on the man's bicep. The man jerked under his finger but not away, more out of surprise.

"Sorry," Dean apologized, pulling his hand back forlornly. "My Mom's an artist, she would love these."

"It's fine, I'm very proud of them. I drew the design myself." The man beamed, stroking his thumb over his own bicep fondly. He looked up and the gentle, growing smile on his face made a strange, foreign feeling burst open in Dean's chest. "I'm Castiel."

Castiel extended his hand, exposing the intricate blue flower on the back and the foreign words on the knuckles. Dean took it with his own and was pleased at how warm Castiel's hands were. They were still surrounded by fallen jello, but in that moment it was like the world was just them.

"Dean." He finally said, realizing he was still holding the man's hand and quickly letting go.

"Do you want to get some coffee? I could show you more of the tattoo..." Castiel trailed off, biting his lip. Dean realized there was a very tiny cross tattooed right underneath the man's lip. "Most of it stretches down my back though, so it'd have to be a private coffee."

Dean's never been one for casual hookups, mostly because he had his Mom at home and that made it kind of difficult. They still shared the house, with his job as a mechanic paying the mortgage and his Mom's art career paying everything else. He dated freely, and lived independently from her, but casual hookups still felt weird to bring home.  
But maybe...maybe it didn't have to be casual.

"I'd love to see them, they're amazing. But I-"

"Oh, you're not-"

"No, no I am! Well I mean-"

"It's alright, seriously I'm so sor-"

"I think we should get public coffee and get to know each other, like maybe our last names, jobs? Then I can appreciate them more." Dean's knees were shaking, but his voice was surprisingly steady and mature. He sounded like he knew what he was doing, even though inside he was close to swooning.

Castiel's face twisted for a moment in concentration then a blinding smile spread across his face. He nodded and chuckled lightly under his breathe, seeming impressed. "Most men jump at the chance to skip coffee and get me naked. I have to admit it is refreshing."

Dean found himself smiling back, his stomach settling into a pleased little pool of warmth. "I think you knocking me into a ton of jello proves I should get to know what I'm getting into first."

Like two grown ass men falling slowly, they stood there surrounded by the mess of their first encounter and smiled at each other, lost to the world.

\--------------------------

"Mom! Good mornin'!" Dean sang as he walked into the kitchen, dressed for the day already in his coveralls. His Mom was already hard at work on a new canvas, her long blonde hair just starting to grey in a messy bun. Breakfast was still sizzling on the counter but he was pleased that he'd chosen such a good time to get up this morning.

"You're chipper this morning. Your date with Castiel went well last night?" He and Cas had been out on several dates since their first meeting, and though none of them had led to Dean seeing the rest of Cas' tattoos they had led to Dean being "chipper". They made out in the impala last night like teenagers, and Dean hadn't wanted to let Cas go, kissing him again and again to keep him there.

"Yeah, I like him." Dean shrugged, trying to play casual but from his Mom's fond smile he wasn't doing very well. His own grin might not be helping him, but he couldn't wipe it off his face.

"Good, ever since Lisa-"

"Mom, come on. This isn't like Lisa." Dean sighed, his mood dropping marginally as he munched on bacon.

"I don't know, Dean. I remember you bouncing off the walls just like this-" Dean scoffed, but she continued. "And you two got very serious. It was terrible that she had to relocate for work, but hopefully this time will work out."

"I'm not thinking of that yet, Mom, I'm just enjoying it. We've only been out a couple times, no need to pull out Dad's ring yet." Dean sighed, draining his coffee and shoving the last bit of eggs into his mouth. "I gotta go, I love you and I'll see you tonight at the exhibit?"

"Yes! I got you a plus one ticket, you're bringing Castiel right?" She called, leaning over on her stool to watch him walk through the hall gathering his keys and coat.

"He's meeting me there since he works a late shift at the clinic. But yes, we'll both be there. Can't wait to see it, Mom. Love you!" Dean had tried to hide how smitten he was when he found out that big bad tattooed Castiel worked at an animal clinic.

"Love you too!"

\----------

The workday passed quickly, with Benny and Jo keeping him distracted with car after car and phone call after phone call. He never got to call Cas like he'd said he would, but he knew Cas would understand.

When he finally got home, the house was empty and he took a nice, long hot shower before getting dressed in a monkey suit. This wasn't his Mom's first exhibit but she always insisted on formal black tie, to go with her "aesthetic" and he's nothing if not a Momma's boy.

The exhibit was being held in a hotel across town and the drive there was peaceful, a little Led playing quietly over the impala's purr. He wasn't exactly nervous about Cas meeting his Mom so much that he was just ready to get it over with. He hated first introductions immensely, even though there was no way his Mom wouldn't love Cas. Especially because they had such a good icebreaker in Cas' tattoos. He'd promised to wear something that would show them off without being too casual.

Dean got out of the impala with an armful of roses he'd picked up for his Mom, and nearly walked straight into Cas. "We gotta stop meeting like this, Cas." Dean grumbled, picking up one of the bouquets that had fallen.

"I'm sorry, I got here a little early and have been waiting for the impala. How are you?" Instead of waiting for an answer Cas dived in a for a kiss, mesmerizing Dean for a moment at how natural it felt.

As they broke apart, Dean took in what he was wearing. A nice waistcoat and buttondown with slacks, would have been a typical boring black tie outfit if it wasn't for the rolled up sleeves. The shirt must have only been short sleeve because it was rolled up to Castiel's biceps, showing off the art on his arms and his neck. Tasteful but still hot as fuck, Dean thought to himself.

"I'm good. A long day but I'm good. You look great."

"Thank you, you too." Cas pressed a second, just as distracting kiss to Dean's lips and effectively stopped all chitchat for a couple minutes. The roses were just starting to crush against Dean's chest, as they gravitated towards each other, when Cas pulled back and with plump, bruising lips suggested they go inside. Dean was in a happy haze the entire time, one hand holding the roses and the other linked with Cas'.

\------------------------

After meeting his Mom, which Castiel passed with flying colors and circling the entire exhibit, Dean realized how tired his date looked. Cas was definitely enjoying the exhibit, and enjoying being there with Dean, but the lines of his face were grim. His skin had lost it's brightness the longer they were there, even his tattoos seemed less vibrant.

"Hey, Cas. Babe, you okay?" Dean asked, whispering into Cas' ear during one of the motion exhibits. The performers were busy fulfilling his Mother's vision, but he was busy holding Cas up, with a hand on the man's chest.

"I don't feel very well. I think I'm getting sick." Cas murmured hotly into Dean's neck, his voice croaky. Dean's hand pressed tighter as he held Cas up, his date getting slacker in his arms.

"Come on, I'll take you home." Dean whispered, pressing a kiss to Cas' clammy temple.

He didn't bother finding his Mom, knowing she'd understand if he texted her later, and just helped Cas down to the elevator. Inside, as they slowly descended to the lobby, Dean wrapped his arm tightly around Cas' shoulders. Cas rested his head on Dean's shoulder, and when the elevator beeped and opened, they stayed that way as they walked to the impala.

When they got to the impala, Dean helped Cas into the front seat. Cas didn't make any moves to put his seat belt on, leaning with his eyes closed against the back of the seat. Dean pulled the belt across and buckled it in, accepting Cas' sleepy thanks with another soft, lingering kiss to the forehead.

Seeing Cas like this, who on all of their dates was so smooth and put together, was striking all of Dean's nurturing thoughts. He wanted to smooth Cas' hair back and tuck him in, and make him soup and maybe even feed it to him. It might have been embarassing if he hadn't wanted to do all the same things for Lisa when she was sick - he just liked taking care of the people he loved.

Thinking that he might love Cas, even so soon, wasn't scary because as he drove, Dean looked over and seen Cas had fallen asleep and was snoring open mouthed. Loving Cas wasn't a bad thing.

Dean had been to Castiel's apartment once so far so thankfully he knew how to get there, and as the tall building rose up in front of the impala he reached over and shook Cas awake. Cas snuffled tiredly and scooted over to press his head to Dean's shoulder.

The elevator to Cas' apartment on the third floor was rickety and loud, and Cas kept his head in Dean's neck the entire time, sleepily kissing up and down. If Cas wasn't so grey, Dean might have thought it was a come-on, or finally the time for him to see the rest of his tattoos. But the moment they got inside the apartment, Cas fell face first onto the couch, still fully dressed and Dean smiled fondly. Sex, no sex, Cas trusted him and that was more than enough.

"Stayin at Cas' apartment, great exhibit! Ily see you tomorrow" Dean texted his Mom, before setting an alarm on his phone and placing it on Cas' coffee table. He leaned down and shook Cas.

"Hey babe, you should get in bed." Cas snuffled grumpily, turning away from Dean to face the back of the couch. "Come on, I'll help you. Let's get you out of these clothes too."

"You just want me naked," Cas smirked tiredly into Dean as he lifted him off the couch.

"Hah, I'd love to have you naked but I was thinking pajamas." Dean laughed, half-carrying, half-walking Cas down the hallway. He hadn't gone into Cas' room yet, and as they entered, he looked around studying it. A typical room, with a large bed covered in a thick blue duvet but the most interesting part of the room was a huge mural across from the bed.

"Wow, Cas this is gorgeous." Dean helped Cas sit down on the bed and got closer to inspect the painting. It was very abstract but the closer he got the more detail and actual images he could make out. Human faces and animals combined into one ethereal compilation, twisting and weaving it's way across the wall like an odd family tree. "Did you paint this?"

He turned around and gasped, Cas had pulled off his shirt and waistcoat and collapsed face down into his pillow. Up and down his back black and silver ink built up several pairs of wings, the feathers so detailed Dean felt like he could reach out and feel them. The feathers that he'd seen on Cas' arms were just part of a set of three wings, and all of them were beautiful. Cas was fast asleep and snoring again, but Dean wanted to touch them so badly.

He lay down slowly next to Cas and reached out with a slightly trembling hand. Cas' skin was warm and soft, but the tattoos were so realistic it was weird for his hand not to meet feathers. Cas' skin was nice though and Dean moved closer to run his hand up Cas' shoulder, following the wings to his arms. "Dean..." Cas' mumbled, his voice muffled by the pillow.

"You want me to leave, Cas?"

"No..." Cas whispered, turning over to look at Dean. The room was dark, but light from a streetlight outside Cas' window lit up his eyes. He looked at Dean through dark eyelashes, and though he was obviously still tired and not feeling well, a little smile spread over his face. "I want you to stay."

Cas wasn't Dean's first love. He wasn't the first person he'd seen with tattoos. He wasn't the first artist, the first man...He wasn't Dean's first anything.

But maybe he could be Dean's last.

Dean moved closer and wrapped himself around Cas. "I'd love to."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, comments much appreciated!


End file.
